Sexual minorities may leave Slovakia due to lack of dialogue

According to Ombudswoman Mária Patakyová, a great number of sexual minorities feel uncomfortable in Slovakia due to their struggles not being discussed in the public arena. Patakyová stressed that the time has come to start a fruitful and cultivated dialogue on the issue of the LGBTI community in Slovakia. She stressed that if the arguments of one another are not heard, "we will remain captive to our own ideas and prejudices to other groups and we will not know how to move on further." The ombudswoman noted in an interview with SITA that she had received a large number of "positive, negative and very negative" responses after her appearance at August's PRIDE march. From the positive reactions, she read out that there are real problems and harassment of many people in Slovakia, but they are not communicating to them for various reasons and not coming out with them to the public. She added that many Slovaks subsequently do not feel comfortable and instead prefer to leave the country. "They are capable of young people who have the potential to achieve great things, and it is not good if they are located outside Slovakia," said the ombudswoman.